Golden Boy
by pigtheowl
Summary: AU where Remus was homeschooled because of the whole lycanthropy thing and whatnot, but still somehow knew Lily and James, so of course Peter has been Azkaban-ed and whatnot because he can't turn into a fucking rat. (And because he's homeschooled, he wouldn't really know Sirius, would he? No. No, he would not.)


**AU where Remus was homeschooled because of the whole lycanthropy thing and whatnot, but still somehow knew Lily and James, so of course Peter has been Azkaban-ed and whatnot because he can't turn into a fucking rat. (And because he's homeschooled, he wouldn't really know Sirius, would he? No. No, he would not.)**

 **If I owned Harry Potter I would be JK Rowling. And these characters would be happily married. So I obviously don't own Harry Potter. Really, what is the point of even writing these things?**

 **Sirius POV.**

When Sirius first walks in it's a bit awkward, handshakes and politeness and generally other things that are out of place in the Hog's Head, because it's a dingy pub with no one there but them and a group of giggling teenage girls, and then it gets more relaxed and more people show up and Sirius, well, Sirius is in his element. That is to say, until Remus Lupin walks in.

Sirius is downing his second or third shot when the door bangs open, and it's gotten so loud in the pub that he almost doesn't notice, but he does, and he nearly spits out his mouthful of bitter alcohol.

Because the boy, the boy is glowing, and it's not just the alcohol, fuckyouMarl, the boy is _quite literally_ giving off a golden aura, and Sirius is the only one who seems to notice.

And then Marlene, _fuckyouMarl_ , moves in front of Sirius' line of vision and the golden boy is gone from his eyesight. On impulse, Sirius pushes past Marlene (because _fuck her_ ) and moves around Fabian Prewett and stares at the boy.

The boy clears his throat and looks anywhere but Sirius, and Sirius feels himself turn red.

He's just opening his mouth to introduce himself when he feels a tug on his arm and he is pulled away from the golden boy by Gideon Prewett to do shots.

He almost forgets about the golden boy. Almost, but not quite.

The next time Sirius sees the golden boy, he's at Florean Fortescue's with Harry, James and Lily's son (he still can't get over how much the boy looks like James - with Lily's eyes, though) who is now nine ( **A/N: he was eight in the first part, never mentioned but)** , an ice-cream lover like his father. He gets free sundaes all the time, partly because of the whole chosen-one bullshit and also probably because of his sly way of getting what he wants (Sirius can never but help think he's raised the boy well).

Sirius has just opened the door for Harry when he's blinded by a glowing light that he's almost forgotten about. Almost, but not quite.

Sirius steps outside again and leans against the building, closing his eyes and collecting himself, thinking of what he should do. _Fuck,_ he thinks. _Fuck._

"Padfoot?" Harry sticks his head out of the shop. "What're you doing?"

Sirius gives him a forced smile. "Nothing, Harry. I'll be in in a mo'."

"'Kay," Harry says, grinning. "Can I order?" Sirius rolls his eyes and hands him two silver Sickles.

"Don't get a stomachache, kid." Harry gives him a devilish grin, looking like his father's doppelganger, and goes back inside. Sirius leans his head against the glass, collects himself, and swings open the door, wincing mentally at the clanging sound the bell makes, letting everyone hear that _hello motherfuckers, Sirius Black is in_.

He finds the golden boy immediately, and has to suck in his breath. He's almost forgotten the way he glows, making everything - everyone - in the room seem like they're the night sky.

He's hidden behind a towering chocolate sundae next to a book - Sirius doesn't look to see what the title is - and he's wearing a gray sweater - not a jumper, an actual _sweater_ (he didn't think anyone actually wore those) - and ripped cordoroys and scuffed Doc Martens and a red beanie and fingerless black gloves and looking so - so _accidentally punk rock_ that Sirius wants to die.

And he's talking to Harry, who's eating ice cream and looking perfectly content. He seems to be talking about something he's interested in - he's waving his hands around in an enthusiastic manner, his eyes are lit up like he's a child presented with a basket of candy, and he's completely neglecting his chocolate sundae. Sirius slides into the chair across from him at the table, and he almost doesn't notice, he's so absorbed in what he's saying to Harry. Almost. But not quite.

"And - oh. Hello. I was just…" he trails off, and Sirius barely notices, because his voice is gravelly and deep and Scottish - oh, good lord, he's _Scottish_ , of all things ( **A/N: same, Sirius, same** ) - and just generally fucking _beautiful_.

"Padfoot!" Harry says enthusiastically, grinning at him. "This is Remus Lupin. He says he's gonna be a professor at Hogwarts. Mr. Lupin, this is my godfather. His name's Sirius Black. But I call him Padfoot, 'cause -"

"Hi," Sirius says breathlessly, and he can't stop thinking Remus Lupin - _Remus Lupin, Remus Lupin_ \- is a name that fits this golden boy perfectly.

"Hello," Remus replies, smiling. "Harry here is quite the listener. I'm 'fraid I was just talkin' his ear off, the lad."

"It's okay," Harry says earnestly, and Sirius feels the sudden need for him to be alone with this golden boy, _RemusRemusRemus_.

In perfect timing, Molly and Arthur walk into the shop with four of her sons - the bratty one with the glasses and the troublemaking twins that remind him of Gideon and Fabian (God, Gid and Fabian) and the boy who's about Harry's age now, Ron, he thinks, and Sirius raises his eyebrows at Harry. "There's Ron - I'm sure he'd be really happy to see you, why don't you go talk to them?" Harry does so, and Sirius lets out a tiny breath of relief that he hopes goes unnoticed by Remus.

"So," Remus says, smiling again, "Sirius Black, eh? Heard all about ye. The first Black to be in Gryffindor. Me dad couldn't believe it when he heard th' news. Told me your family was awful prestigious, like." ( **A/N: I'M SO SORRY I'M SO BAD AT WRITING SCOTTISH PEOPLE I've never met a Scottish person IRL so I'm basically working off of Amy Pond and a Fitzsimmons fanfiction I read** )

"Yeah," Sirius replies, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly when a thought strikes him. "Hey - how come you weren't at Hogwarts? I don't remember seeing you. You weren't in Slytherin, were you?"

"Nah," Remus says, laughing. "God, no. I'm not really the sly, cunning, self-preserving type. I was homeschooled. Me dad taught me everything there was t' know. If I had gone there - Hogwarts, that is - I probably would've been in Ravenclaw. Least that's what me dad always said. It's why I wanna be a professor. Never got the chance to be a student there meself, so I can at least be a teacher to them."

"What about your mum?" Sirius asks, unable to help himself. "You haven't mentioned her - did she go away, or something?"

Remus looks down, and the glow fades, and Sirius gets the feeling that he has just said something horribly, horribly wrong. But then Remus smiles and the aura is back and Remus says cheerfully like nothing's happened, "She died. In me fifth year."

"Oh," Sirius says awkwardly. He can't imagine what it would have been like if his mum had died. It would have been nicer, actually, so that's a shit comparison, but still. "I'm sorry."

"No need. Like I said, I was five. Barely remember her, anyhow." Sirius can still spot the pain in Remus' eyes, though - or has it been there this entire time? - and feels a pang of sympathy for this angel, this boy who does not deserve a dead mother and whatever other problems the world might throw at him, because obviously _the world_ does not notice this boy's purity, this boy's loveliness, this boy's wonderfulness, because if _the world_ saw this, _the world_ would not have thrown any problems at him in the first place. ( **A/N: that was a shit sentence. Sorry.** )

"Oh," Sirius says stupidly, and before he knows it, he's saying, "My mum and dad were pretty horrible folks. Abusive. Y'know?"

"Oh." Remus seems taken aback that Sirius decided to share this information with him, and Sirius mentally slaps himself. Remus may be absolutely gorgeous - _Jesus fuck, he's so gorgeous_ \- but that does not give Sirius an excuse to share all his secrets with the other man.

"Sorry. Filter."

"No - no, 's all right. I'm just - just sorry, s'all."

"Hey - do you think you could come over for dinner sometime? Only it seems Harry likes you, and I like you, and it would be nice to see you again." Remus smiles. Sirius tries not to squint at how outlandishly _bright_ the shop has gotten.

"Tha' would be lovely," Remus responds, setting his book on the table. "Tomorrow night? Does tha' work for you an Harry?"

"Yes," Sirius says breathlessly. "Yes, wonderful."

"All righ'," Remus says. "I'll see you tomorrow nigh', then, Sirius Black." And then he goes back to his book.

Sirius walks out of Florean's with a goodbye to the Weasleys and Harry gripping tightly on his hand. He shakes his head.

"Mr. Lupin is coming for dinner tomorrow night," he says out loud, more to himself than to Harry. " _Wonderful_."


End file.
